Rapid Fire Feb. 12, 2013: SASC SECDEF Vote

The US Senate Armed Services Committee will likely vote this afternoon on Chuck Hagel’s nomination as Secretary of Defense. Republican senators denied as an unfounded rumor that they were considering walking out of the committee.

Senate Democrats will introduce a bill later this week that would postpone sequestration by another 10 months, based on a mix on spending cuts and tax increases. will it be anything the Republicans are likely to agree to? Reuters.

Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-FL, HACD member) and 8 other representatives from coastal states wrote Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to ask him to delay pending cancellation of third and fourth quarter ship maintenance availabilities.

According to anonymous sources cited by the Washington Post, the Obama administration is considering leaving 8,000 troops in Afghanistan in 2014-2015, then phase them out to as little as a thousand by 2017. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey says it all depends on what the post-war mission is going to be. A key question is of course the ability of Afghanistan to run its own security forces: a new GAO report points out shortfalls in funding, which relies overwhelmingly on international support.

Garry R. Newton, Deputy Commander of the US Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) will conduct two videoconferences on Thursday to update participants on the effects of the continuing resolution and sequestration. They are free but registration (East Coast, West Coast) is required.

After recent rounds of promotions and appointments among USAF generals, it is the Marines’ turn.

The US Army Force Management School updated its primer [MS Word] describing the management systems used for capabilities development and research, development, and acquisition of materiel systems. Some of it reflects the DOD-wide acquisition lifecycle while other parts are Army-centric, such as the role played by Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).

Finmeccanica’s Chairman and CEO Giuseppe Orsi was arrested by the Italian police in a corruption probe tied to the sale of 12 AgustaWestland helicopters to India. Trade unions were quick to pressure the Italian government to put in place new management. The firm issued a terse statement of support for its boss, whose lawyer expressed complete surprise. Finmeccanica | WaPo | Reuters | Reuters Italia | Il Fatto Quotidiano [in Italian].